Half to william h



Patented Dec. I3, I898.

No. 6l6,056.

W. S. LANGFURD. AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

(Application filed Sept. 15, 1897.)

(No Model.)

a n F r CHM, m n A mm Pf mm 1 B N INVEN'T'UR JDQ M WI TNBEEEE ,J Q WWUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. LANGFORD, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOlVILLIAM H. GOUGH, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC FlRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 616,056, dated December13, 1898.

Application filed September 1897. Serial No. 6 51,708. N0 model) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,WILLIAM S. LANGFORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic fire-extinguishers for storehousesand other places of the class known as sprinklers.

Some of the objects of the invention are to provide a construction thatwill allow water under pressure to be maintained in the sprinklerwithout liability of leakage at the valve, to provide an improved formof valve wherein the constant pressure of the water Will operate to keepthe valve tightly to its seat, to provide an improved fusible supportand trip for holding the valve to its seat, to provide an improvedlocking-nut that is independent of the frame, and to provide areversible waterdistributer that may be used either as an upward or adownward distributer.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a side View of my automatic sprinkler device, showing allthe parts in position. Fig. 2 is a view of the top of the frame andshowing the distributer in section and in reversed position from thatshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the sprinkler, showingcertain parts in section. The support and trip for the valve is notshown in this view. Fig. 4 is a side view of the barrel. Fig. 5 is aview of the locking-nut. 'Fig. 6 shows two views of the fusiblevalve-support and trip Fig. 7 shows four views of parts comprising thefusible valve -support and trip. Fig. Sis a diametrical section of thevalve parts. Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the valve-cap and levers, thering-valve being removed. Fig. 10 shows two views of the ring part ofthe valve. Fig. 11. shows reversed views of the valve levers and alsoprojected sectional views of same. Fig. 12 is a view of the gasket partof the valve.

The letter A designates the barrel, having at one end a screw-thread a.for attachment to a water-pipe, a wrench-grasp c, adjoining said end, ascrew-head b at the other end and of larger exterior diameter thaneither the end, on the inner side, the yoke-frame has a thin edge f. Avalve-cap G covers the valve proper and takes over the circularvalve-seat d, and the fusible support and trip D has one end resting onthe valve-cap, and the other end has a slight groove or notch f, whichengages the thin edge f on the yokeframe. This device D keeps thevalve-cap to its position until the occurrence of a'fire.

The valve-cap O has a cavity which contains the several valve parts anda circular rim or edge g, which surrounds the said valveseat d. Thevalve comprises the ring hand the thin disk or gasket h, of aluminium orother suitable non-corrosive material, which covers the water-passage cland rests on the circular valve-seat cl. The ring it fits snugly withinthe circular rim g of the cap and has slight movement up and downtherein. It has its upper inner surface beveled, as at h Small lovers 2'(in the present instance two) are within the cavity of the cap 0. Theselevers are shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 11, and are segment-shaped in oneview and also are somewhat wedge-shaped in section. The two points t" atthe ends of the curve constitute fulcrum-points, and the center point tconstitutes the long arm of the lever acted on by the thin disk orgasket, while the curve at 2' constitutes the short arm of the lever andacts on the bevel h of the ring. It will now be seen that the thinnon-corrosive disk or gasket will be pressed by the liquid-pressure inpassage d, and thereby the gasket will yield a little and be dished atits center and pressed on the center points 1' of the two levers. Thiswill tilt the levers and cause the curved parts at t to force the ringhtoward the gasket and toward the valve-seat d on the barrel,'andthereby as long as the cap 0 does not yield the liquid-pressure inpassage d will keep the valve tightly to its seat.

The fusible device D,which holds the valvecap to its seat, has a bodycomposed in the presentinstance of three sections jj J The two endsections j j are alike and at the center and at one side, as at 70, abutagainst each other for a distance less than one-half the cross-width. Atthe center and opposite side the two end sections form a V-notch,whichextends inward a distance more than one-half the cross-width. Thecentral section is V- shaped and fits in the V-notch just described.These three sections are bound together by two suitably-shaped bandsZ Zand readilyfusible solder. These bands when placed in position, asshown, may partly or completely encircle the three sections. Theencircling shape which the two bands Z Z assume is seen in theright-hand view of Fig. 7. that is fusible at a moderate temperaturesay160 Fahrenheitis applied to confine the bands.

The thrust-line orline of compression which the device D must sustain islongitudinally through the center. Then the solder is fused by the heatof a fire, the embrace of the bands I l will be relaxed, the V-shapedsection will slip out of position, and the two end sections will tilt ontheir abutting point at 70. This operation constitutes the tripaction,which releases the valve-cap O and allows the water to dischargethrough the passage d.

It is important in this class of sprinkler fire-extinguishers to makeprovision that will prevent leaks at the valve. One of the featureswhich I have provided to this end is a locking-nut N, wholly independentof the frame, but serving to prevent a rotary movement of the frame onthe large end of the barrel. The locking-nut is also on the screwthreadof the large end of the barrel, and said nut may be taken ofi over thewrench-grasp c and screw end a. In adjusting the parts to their positionwhen the frame B has been turned on the screw-head 1) until the supportD is compressed tightly between the yoke end f and the valve-cap 0,thereby pressing the said valve-cap hard over the valve-seat (1, saidframe is then locked or secured from turning backward by bringing thelocking-nut N into use. By turning this nut on the head I) so that thenut will press against the ring-base e the frame will be prevented fromrotary movement by the vibration from any cause and from loosening thesupport D, and is thereby kept tight, and no leakage at the valve willoccur.

I provide a revoluble distributer P, that is adapted to be reversed.This distributer has a central seat-bearing g on one side and a similarone g on the other side. It is provided with a number of blades 0', eachof which is twisted similar to the form approximately of apropeller-blade; but all the blades are bent or curved upward from thecentral hub, thus forming a sort of dished affair. The blades at oneside of the distributer therefore form a concave and the other side aconvex. This distributer is held by a pivotscrew 8 at the point end ofthe yoke-frame,

Solder 1 so as to receive the stream of water that will flow from thepassage d when the valve-cap G is removed. It will be seen that thewater striking against the convex side of the distributer in theposition shown in Figs. 1 and 3 will be deflected laterally and upward.When the distributer is reversed, as shown irr Fig. 2, the stream ofwater will strike against the concave side and be deflected laterallyand upward. The peculiar construction of this distributer has the effectin practice to distribute the water over a greater area than any otherform known to me.

From this description the operation of the improved sprinkler will beunderstood.

The foregoing description has reference to water as the element toextinguish the fire; but it is obvious this sprinkler device may be usedwith any other liquid or solution suitable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination in a sprinkler fire-extinguisher, of a screw-threadedbarrel having on its end a valve-seat; a frame having a ringbase screwedon said barrel; a valve-cap having a cavity and a circular rimsurrounding the valve-seat; a flexible disk within said cavity andresting on the valve-seat and cl osing the passage through the barrel;mechanism inclosed in the cavity of the valve-cap and coacting with thesaid flexible disk, whereby the water in the barrel-passage pressing onthe flexible disk will cause said mechanism to press the rim of saidflexible disk tightly to the valve-seat; and a fusible supportinterposed between a part of the frame and the said valve-cap.

2. The combination in a sprinkler fire-extin guisher of a barrel havinga water-passage; a frame attached to the barrel; a valve-cap having acavity which contains a valve consisting of a ring and a disk coveringthe water-passage, levers having ends at the center resting on the saiddisk, and ends acting on the said ring; and a fusible support and tripholding said valve-cap in closed position.

3. The combination in a fusible fire-extinguisher of a barrel having awater-passage; a frame attached to the barrel; a valve device closingthe water-passage; and a fusible support and trip composed of threesectionsthe two end sections abutting against each other only at oneside of the longitudinal central thrust-line and forming a V-notch onthe other side, and the middle section having a V shape and fitted insaid notch, and bands partly encircling said three sections and confinedby readily-fusible solder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

WVILLIAM S. LANGFORD.

Witnesses:

OHAPIN A. FERGUSON, CHARLES B. MANN, J r.

